(Closed) Have you ever hired professional movers?

I’m just curious, but where do I find out a general guideline for the cost of professional movers? We’re going to be moving out of state in about 9 months (not sure where yet, but likely at least 3-4 states away) and I want to have a general idea of how much I should save for the move.

We have a two bedroom townhouse. So we have a full living room of furniture, bedroom, office, and a washer/dryer set. We don’t own the other large appliances, so it isn’t quite as large as a full house moving, but close (I guess just subtract the refrigerator and oven).

So, if you’ve moved out of state and hired movers:

What was the distance of your move? (approximately):

Did you pack the majority of your boxes (clothing, dishes) and the movers just loaded everything into the truck — or did your moving company pack and haul everything?

What was the approximate cost of the moving company you used?

Going through that experience, would you hire movers again, or would you just hire a U-Haul truck and load/unload everything yourself?

What was the distance of your move? (approximately): 5-6 miles. Moving from NW DC to Virginia

Did you pack the majority of your boxes (clothing, dishes) and the movers just loaded everything into the truck — or did your moving company pack and haul everything?I packed everything. That way I knew how everything was packed and things I couldn’t afford being broken/lost (television, keepsakes, etc.) came with me in my car.

What was the approximate cost of the moving company you used?It was about $400-500 including tip (it was several years ago, so I can’t remember) for that short of a distance and a 1 bedroom apartment.

Going through that experience, would you hire movers again, or would you just hire a U-Haul truck and load/unload everything yourself?If money weren’t an option, I would do it in a HEARTBEAT. I now have more things since FI and I live together, so it would cost significantly more now. But see if you can get a couple quotes because it is so, so, so worth it. You can also pack it up all yourself, drive it yourself, and then have a moving company meet you at the new place and do all the heavy lifting.

@MrsEdamame: Moved from Philly to Boston about a year and a half ago. We packed everything ourselves; the movers just loaded the truck. We fit as much as we could into our cars, and even still, it cost us about $2000 (we were moving a two bedroom apartment’s worth of stuff). We got estimates from several companies, but they all cost about the same.

It was easier than moving things ourselves, but here’s the thing – you get an estimate of when you’ll get your belongings delivered, and if they miss that estimate, there is nothing you can do. We were told that our belongings would be delivered 2 days after they were picked up, and due to other routes they added on to our truck at the last minute, we didn’t get our stuff for TWO WEEKS. No bed, no furniture, no cooking equipment, no nothing. We kept getting the runaround from the moving company (and we used Atlas Van Lines, so not a fly-by-night business) until the day before our stuff finally got delivered.

Our movers on both ends were friendly and professional, and none of our stuff was damaged in transit, so in that regard, I’d recommend movers for sure, but be aware that depending on who you go with, you don’t really know when your belongings will be delivered to you.

I can’t say how much it would be to move across state lines, but we have used movers the last time two times we moved, each being about an hour from the previous location. We got a great price using a smaller company and only paid about $180ish the first time moving a 2 bedroom apartment and then $200(?) plus tip to move a 2 bedroom townhouse. We used the same movers because they were so great and they were very careful of our belongings. I can’t remember anything significant being broken either time. They charged by the hour and they really hustled!

That being said, there is no way that you will be using a by-the-hour company. Being a former military child, I remember moving quite often. It was pretty expensive and I remember having to pack everything ourselves or you would likely have the kitchen towels with the shoe rack next to the picture frames. Since then, I’ve always packed things myself so I know that they are packaged well and logically. My friend recently moved from Virginia to Tennessee and I think the move cost her about $1,200-1,800? Somewhere in that range, but again that was military so it was provided. I think the safest way to go about it is to call around and get quotes, then add $1,000 on top of it for incidentals and “unexpected” overages.